“As we gather in Yokohama this week for the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, I’d like to take a moment and reflect on how far we have come,” Mark Dybul, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes in the Huffington Post’s “The Big Push” blog. “Just 10 years ago, the African continent was plagued by a terrifying spread of HIV and AIDS, at the same time that malaria was still killing millions of children under the age of five, and tuberculosis was threatening as well,” he states, discussing interventions. “Today, we have those scientific tools and that implementation experience, and it gives us an historic opportunity to completely control these three major killers,” he writes, adding, “Japan needs to play a critical role, if we are to succeed in defeating AIDS, TB and malaria. Only with global support, and with Japan’s leadership, can this cause succeed.”

“Japan has consistently contributed to the development of Africa” and “was instrumental in the creation of the Global Fund, with the summit of G8 nations in Okinawa in 2000 that called for the creation of this global financing organization, strong technical support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, tireless participation on the Global Fund Board and consistently strong financial support,” Dybul notes. “The Global Fund’s modern, 21st century approach to partnership — which Japan played a key role in creating — engages partners from every sector, involves partners in the decision-making process, and shares the success of our common cause,” he continues, and states, “We are immensely grateful to the Japanese people allowing us to play a role in saving and dramatically improving the lives of millions of people, their families, communities and countries” (5/30).